Fifa has dismissed its chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, less than three weeks after he publicly criticized president Gianni Infantino's now-abandoned proposal to sell a stake in the organization's competitions to private investors.
A Fifa spokesperson confirmed the split in a brief statement: "Fifa can confirm that the working relationship between Fifa and Kevin Lamour as Fifa's Chief Operating Officer has ended on 17 August 2026. Fifa thanks Kevin for his two years of service and wishes him the best of luck for the future. No further comment will be made on the matter."
Staff were notified of Lamour's exit through an email from secretary general Mattias Grafstrom on Monday evening, in which he said the two parties had "agreed to part ways." In a separate letter to Fifa Council members, Grafstrom described the decision as being made "after careful consideration and with great respect for Kevin, both personally and professionally," while thanking him for his daily contributions to the organization.
Lamour, 46, had joined Fifa in November 2024 after previously serving as deputy secretary general at Uefa, where he first began working in 2007. His departure comes just weeks after he issued a pointed statement condemning the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme, which would have seen 21% of a new company managing commercial and ticketing rights for Fifa competitions—including the World Cup—sold to private investment firms.
Speaking to the Associated Press on July 31, Lamour said the plan was "the project of one person" and insisted that Fifa's own administration had been "deceived" about it. He argued that football's leadership needed to reflect seriously on the direction being taken. "Not only must this project not go ahead," he said, "but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions."
Lamour went further, suggesting Infantino had lost sight of his role. He said a president "must bring people together, unite them, and inspire them," adding pointedly: "Today, we are experiencing the opposite." He also said his colleagues "deserve better than contempt and intimidation," and expressed hope that Fifa staff could once again feel proud of the organization they worked for.
Acknowledging the risk to his own position, Lamour said at the time: "If that means I lose my job, then so be it. I will understand and respect that decision. At least I'll sleep well tonight."
He is also understood to have voted against the FFE proposal at a meeting held the day before the World Cup final on July 18, according to a New York Times report. Notably, it was Grafstrom—not Infantino—who held the final conversation with Lamour regarding his exit, a detail that reportedly surprised several senior figures in football given how directly Lamour's criticism had targeted the Fifa president.
The FFE plan was shelved shortly after Lamour's comments amid fierce opposition from Uefa, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation, with Uefa reportedly threatening to boycott the World Cup if it proceeded. Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino, resigned in protest on the same day Lamour spoke out.
Infantino remains under mounting pressure as he seeks a fourth term as Fifa president at next March's congress. Uefa and Concacaf have withdrawn their backing for his re-election, joining national federations including England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and, as of Monday, Scotland. Some Concacaf members, including Mexico, have broken from their confederation to support Infantino, while the African, South American, and Oceania confederations continue to back him. Football governance watchdog FairSquare has separately called on Fifa to bar Infantino from standing for re-election.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport, The Guardian, and The Independent.